Vasylkiv
Vasylkivskyi Raion |established_title = First mentioned |established_date = 988 |established_title1 = Magdeburg law |established_date1 = 1586 |leader_title = |leader_name = |area_magnitude = |area_total_km2 = 29.6 |area_land_km2 = |area_water_km2 = |population_as_of = 2013 |population_note = |population_total = 36672|population_footnotes= |population_metro = |population_density_km2 = |pushpin_map = Ukraine Kiev Oblast#Ukraine |pushpin_label_position = |pushpin_map_caption =Location of Vasylkiv |pushpin_mapsize = |coordinates = |elevation_m = |postal_code_type=Postal code |postal_code = 8600 — 8612 |area_code = +380 4571 |blank_info = |blank1_info = |website = |footnotes = }} Vasylkiv ( , translit. Vasyl’kiv) is a city located on the Stuhna River in Kiev Oblast (province) in central Ukraine. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance. It also serves as the administrative center of Vasylkivskyi Rayon (district) though it does not belong to the rayon. A settlement with an over 1000 years history, it was incorporated as a city in 1796. The city hosts the Vasylkiv air base since the Cold War. Its population is approximately . History The exact date of the settlement's foundation is unknown but, according to the Primary Chronicle, it was the place where Vladimir the Great's numerous wives were living. After the Christianization of Kiev, Vladimir built there a fortress and named it Vasilev, after his patron saint - Saint Basil (Vasily). It was a birthplace of Saint Theodosius, and there is a Ukrainian baroque church (1756–58) commemorating this saint. In 1658, the Russian military commander Yuri Baryatinsky defeated the army of hetman Ivan Vyhovsky's brother Konstantin near Vasylkiv, after the Ukrainian hetman switched the sides in favour of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Throughout the times, an obscure place, almost forgotten in spite of the glorious history and connection to many earlier historic events, it was put back on the map by an anecdotal story related to Catherine II of Russia. As per legend, while passing through it during the night, the carriage lost one wheel. Catherine II woke up from the sudden jerk, and asked the name of the town. When she fell asleep again, her servants repaired the wheel and the carriage moved again. She woke up again and upon learning that it is still Vasilkov, she remarked : "A large town, indeed". Gallery Wikiexpedition Vasylkiv 001.jpg|A street in downtown Vasylkiv. Wikiexpedition Vasylkiv 020.jpg|City panorama. Wikiexpedition Vasylkiv 033.jpg|Remnants of the medieval defensive walls in the city. Собор Антонія і Феодосія.jpg|Sts. Anthony and Theodosius Cathedral in Vasylkiv (18th-century architecture). Wikiexpedition_Vasylkiv_079.JPG|St. Nicholas church in Vasylkiv (18th-century architecture). Wikiexpedition Vasylkiv 043.JPG|Former synagogue, later "Vasylkiv-2" rail station terminal (19th-century architecture). Wikiexpedition Vasylkiv 055.jpg|Stugna River in Vasylkiv. Wikiexpedition Vasylkiv 059.jpg|Vasylkiv Air Force College building. Wikiexpedition Vasylkiv 061.jpg|One of Vasylkiv's schools. Wikiexpedition Vasylkiv 118.JPG|Children dance studio lesson in Vasylkiv's Culture House. People from Vasylkiv *Mykola Melnychenko - security services and politics personality *Oleksiy Radzievskyi - prominent Ukrainian medic References External links * vasylkiv.today - the first independent news portal and social network of Vasylkiv * vasilkov.com.ua - Vasylkiv city website * kyiv-obl.gov.ua - Site about Vasylkiv on Kiev Oblast's Administration website * Vasilkov, of Kiev Guberniya, an article in Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary Category:Vasylkiv Category:Cities in Kiev Oblast Category:Kiev Governorate Category:Cities of regional significance in Ukraine